The U.S. Coast Guard is actively pursuing a sanctioned oil tanker near Venezuela, marking the third operation against sanctioned vessels in less than two weeks.
The pursuit comes after President Donald Trump announced a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
An unnamed U.S. official told news outlets that the vessel is flying a false flag and is under a judicial seizure order. The official did not disclose the tanker’s exact location and noted it had not been boarded so far.
British maritime risk group Vanguard identified the tanker as Bella 1, a very large crude oil carrier added last year to the U.S. Treasury sanctions list due to links to Iran.
On Saturday, the U.S. seized a second oil tanker in international waters. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem shared a video of the seizure on X, showing helicopters surrounding the vessel.
In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela.
The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund… pic.twitter.com/nSZ4mi6axc
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) December 20, 2025
“In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the U.S. Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela,” she wrote. “The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region.”
Trump imposed a naval blockade last week on sanctioned vessels entering or leaving Venezuela, days after the U.S. seized the Guyana-flagged VLCC Skipper, a sanctioned oil tanker off the country’s coast. The move aims to disrupt the movement of sanctioned oil that Trump says funds drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping.
Following the blockade, the U.S. announced new sanctions targeting six shadow-fleet tankers trading with Venezuela.
Alongside operations against sanctioned vessels, U.S. strikes targeting suspected Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific continue. The Pentagon has so far struck 28 alleged drug boats, killing at least 100 people.
